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A Beautiful Mind Mathematician John F. Nash Jr. Dies
Rick Zeman writes: John F. Nash Jr. revolutionized the mathematical field of game theory and was given a mind that was unique and deeply troubled. He became known to most people by the movie about his life, A Beautiful Mind. Dr. Nash died, along with his wife, May 24 in a two-car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike. The Washington Post reports: "In 1994, when Dr. Nash received the Nobel Prize in economics, the award marked not only an intellectual triumph but also a personal one. More than four decades earlier, as a Princeton University graduate student, he had produced a 27-page thesis on game theory — in essence, the applied mathematical study of decision-making in situations of conflict — that would become one of the most celebrated works in the field. Before the academic world could fully recognize his achievement, Dr. Nash descended into a condition eventually diagnosed as schizophrenia. For the better part of 20 years, his once supremely rational mind was beset by delusions and hallucinations. By the time Dr. Nash emerged from his disturbed state, his ideas had influenced economics, foreign affairs, politics, biology — virtually every sphere of life fueled by competition. But he been absent from professional life for so long that some scholars assumed he was dead."
...wants a Nobel Prize, one's work must be in Economics, or Physics, or otherwise be recognizable in another discipline beyond one's actual field of study.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Historical inaccuracies aside, the movie A Beautiful Mind inspired me to pursue and receive my B.S. in Mathematics which resulted in a very lucrative and satisfactory career. My thanks go out to Dr. Nash and my condolences go out to his family.
'We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress.' RPF
He is known for his work in game theory, however he is not a game theory mathematician since before fading into his mental illness he was working on quantum theory. His paper on game theory is his Ph. D. thesis. Just the tip of the iceberg this mathematician was and could have been if the illness didn't stopped him. Anyhow, it is very sad he and his wife died in an automobile accident.
Achille Talon
Hop!
Why don't we wear seatbelts in taxi cabs? Is it even legal to not wear seat belts?
I come here for the love
In a high speed accident anything can happen of course. The real benefit is in lower speed accidents. In the past at speeds under 50mph many people were dying or being crippled for life without the use of seat belts. Properly belted in those are almost entirely walk away accidents. At really high speeds I'm not sure it makes that much difference. I remember back in the early sixties I was 5 years old and my Dad was driving his 59 Ford (on skinny bias-ply tires) with the needle on the speedometer right between the 00 on the 100MPH mark. The car had no belts at all and I was standing on the front seat gleefully yelling "pass another one daddy" as my father sipped on a jug of moonshine he had sitting on the floorboards between his legs. He's 90 now and when I remind him of it (he loves to criticize MY driving) he almost cries. It's amazing any of us survived. But hell it was fun.